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Hand, The
The Hand is a fictional organization featured in television programs based on comic book titles published by Marvel Comics. They are presented as part of the greater Marvel Cinematic Universe and have appeared on Marvel's Netflix MCU projects such as Daredevil, Iron Fist, and The Defenders. The Hand are a criminal cartel of Chinese origin with practices similar to that of various real world Asian gangs such as the Triads or the Japanese Yakuza - except they have ninjas, or at least, the Chinese mystical equivalent to ninjas. One of the top leaders of The Hand is a woman named Madame Gao, who dominates the drug trade in New York City with production of a special brand of synthetic heroin. The Hand has worked in connection with reputed mob boss Wilson Fisk, aka the Kingpin of Crime, and has been active in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of New York City. The Hand's activities attracted the attention of a vigilante dubbed "The Devil of Hell's Kitchen", aka Daredevil, aka Matt Murdock. The Hand's financial arm was tied in with the Rand Corporation, formerly headed up by the late Wendell Rand and his unscrupulous business partner, Harold Meachum. Wendell learned about The Hand's involvement in the company and took a flight to the Chinese town of Anzhou to investigate further. Harold Meachum had the pilots of the plane poisoned, which forced the aircraft to crash in the Himalayas. Wendell and his wife Heather Rand both died, but their young son, Danny survived, and was taken in by the monastic Order of the Crane of the mystical city of K'un-Lun. For the next fifteen years, Danny Rand was trained to become the immortal weapon to combat The Hand - the Iron Fist. At this time however, he had no idea that The Hand had insinuated its way into his father's company and was indirectly responsible for the death of his parents. Danny Rand returned to New York City as an adult with a commitment towards destroying The Hand. To aide him in this endeavor, he struck friendships with a martial arts instructor named Colleen Wing, and a doctor named Claire Temple - who had her own experiences with New York's criminal environment. Danny later learned that Colleen Wing was a member of The Hand, though she was unaware of the group's more nefarious activities. She was raised by a sensei named Bakuto, who convinced her that his version of The Hand was an adjunct group that worked for the betterment of society, which was in direct opposition to the efforts of Madame Gao. Although Bakuto and Madame Gao were at odds with one another, Bakuto was not the noble leader that Colleen believed him to be. Colleen, Danny, and Claire traveled to Anzhou to destroy a Hand narcotics factory, and it was then that Danny began to learn the truth about the group's connection to his parents' death. Madame Gao was captured and given over to Bakuto at his outreach compound back in New York. Shortly thereafter however, Colleen Wing learned the truth about her sensei, which brought her into direct conflict with him. She bested him in martial combat, but Bakuto managed to get away. Madame Gao, likewise managed to escape from Bakuto's compound.